Customer Reviews

Vol. 2: Release

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This CD soars! I bought their first effort, Sound Magic,blind from Amazon based on customers' reviews and was blown away by the melding of Celtic ethereal with African heartbeat. Waiting for the follow up, I was fearful that the band might end up being be a one trick pony. This CD puts those fears to rest. Hypnotic, pulsating, and universal. At times, I'd almost swear that I hear sung Japanese and an alto didjeridoo blended in that digital beat. Most certainly this CD won't appeal to the Celtic purists out there, but that would be their loss. Hybrid vigor is strong vigor and this is as strong music gets. Both the vocal and instrumental versions of Release (It) rejoice in life and make me want to dance in celebration. If its spirit doesn't grab you, you'd better check your pulse. Guest vocalist Sinead O'Connor has never been more at home in a song. Dance DJ's get ready to sample. International..Beat...Dance...New Age...Old Age... .throw the labels away. Listen, move and be.

I came by way of Celtic music: whirling reels, wailing 'pipes, a journey into the only heritage accessible to descendants of white Europeans. I had heard thousand-year-old tunes played on 500-year-old instruments in a setting from a Druidic past. And I felt it stir my soul. I had also come through Africa, by way of Johnny Clegg and Savuka, before Nelson Mandela had been freed -- urgency aligned with the certainty of impending joy. I heard some cuts from Afro-Celt sound System's first album, Sound Magic, and it caught my attention. Then I came to Release, and it all flowed together. I was reminded of (believe it or not) The Rascals' "Mother Nature Land" which 20--25 years ago had blended driving, naked drums with a search for religious and environmental peace. But "Release" soars with a voice more appropriate to the material, and with no human voice at all, and it takes you along. Are you in the African past, or in the Celtic past of blue-faced warriors? Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because it dances you into the future, even if you don't dance much. You will. Take this to any party, and you'll be the hero, for taking the whole groove to a higher level, turning the evening's festivities to joyous relevance and leaving everyone with a mystical calm when the music stops. Or just put it on your player at home and let it take you away.

This album rocks! It's not just "World Music"... Deep Forest blends samples of real music and sounds of world culture and other groups blend techno and ambient beats with live music of a certain culture. But ACSS blends the music of Africa and Ireland to make a whole new sound, one that reaches deep into the soul and raises the spirit. The first album is intense and exciting but this second album has more electronica, dance beats, and haunting vocals from Iarla O Lionaird and Sinead O'Connor.

I had the pleasure to see this group live and if you ever get the chance, I recommend you do too. It was a small venue but the energy was as intense as a coliseum. These guys truly enjoy each other's company and communicate beautifully (in spite of not being able to speak each other's language). You can see that the members of this group do this music for love and FUN! And this joy comes out on the album.

This is a wonderfully constructed and well blended album! The mesh of African and Celtic music works perfectly on this cd and as a whole it's style reminded me the most of Deep Forest (the more African aspects) and Stone Edge (the more Celtic aspects). Favorite tracks include Elrean, Even in my dreams, and Amber. The style of this cd is definately "ethno-beat" or "global-beat" - it combines exotic vocals and instrumentations with modern rhythms and synthesizers. If you love this album your next purchases should be albums by Deep Forest or Stone Edge. I rank all of them very highley.

Afro-Celt's "Vol.2: Release" is an absolute must have for fans of this genre of music!

Combining Celtic and African music together initially seems a little strange, afterall one style emanates from chilly northern European climes while the other stems from a whole different culture a little closer to the equator. Despite being a world apart in geographic terms the raw, organic energy of the two styles work supremely well together.

It has been tried before - notably on Mike Oldfield's astonishing 1975 album 'Ommadawn' - so it is nothing new, but ACSS are a cut above any other contemporary band delving into this genre.

Unlike 'Vol 1', 'Vol 2' never lets up in the quality control and is stunning from start to finish, a rarity in this age of overlong CD length albums, and is littered with highlights. The injection of dance rhythms amid the cocktail of sounds is done supremely well and never grates like dance beats often do.

The enjoyment the band had in the making of their music is obvious throughout. Whether it's an infectious, laid-back tempo of 'Hypnotica', the airy lilt of 'Eireann' or the brooding power of the title track, the love of making great music shines through and long may they continue doing so.

While other reviews have focused on the music on this disc, none have mentioned something about this disc that I find just as enjoyable as the music if not more! Take this CD and put it in the CD-ROM drive of your pc or mac. There is a program contained on the disc called noodle. When you open and use this program, it allows you to create your own afro-celt grooves by using samples of beats and intrument sound bites of Afro Celt Sound System - all displayed and munipulated on a visual "palette" that is easy to use. This program is worth the price of the disc alone...as it allows you to really personalize the listening experience. It's also much fun!

Selling over 200,000 records when you're dealing in techno Afro-Celtic music is no small feat. But Afro-Celt Sound System approach their task with the kind of authenticity that comes from real musicians who truly understand their music. Once you know the roots and reasons of Celtic music, it's marriage to African music draws into question why they ever were split up.

On this album, ACSS have strengthened their beats to remain more contemporary with the styles of today, a move that has contributed a great deal to their successful emergence onto the charts. And they keep their strong instrumental and vocal traditions, with Sinead O'Connor, among others, lending a hand. Tracks like Release and Lovers of Light demonstrate why Afro-Celt are master at what they do, as pipes, whistles, string instruments, and traditional drums weaves effortless through vocals as well as electronic beats. DJs have undoubtedly been taking this album and mixing it with other beats to bring it to the dance floor, and lovers of fusion groups like Deep Forest, Myth, and Enigma will get a rush from the stylings here. While grandmothers in Galway might wince, everyone else will be cheering, as they increase their number of speeding tickets by at least two while listening to this album.

If anything, this album demonstrates how vibrant these traditions are today, and their accessibility within the context of electronic music. Real fans of the first Volume, however, will detect something slightly amiss, as the real "soul" of the enterprise, lead by Iarla O'Lionaird's soulful, heart-rending vocals, seems to diminished slightly on this album. It's minimal, but the warm, velvety, yet still menacing darkness of some of Volume 1 is not present on this album. Chalk it up to a more mainstream attack on the electronic aspects of this album -- or maybe the the track Lovers of Light. Either way, if you enjoyed the first album, buy this album. And if you love the Eileen Ivers and Davy Spillane version of celtic, this really is for you.

The first ACSS CD Sound Magic is very folky, with little of the electronic techno sounds of Further In Time.

To me Release is like the bridge between the folkiness of Sound Magic and the technopoppish sound of Further In Time and it pays off well.

To me it is astonishing that two seamingly ancient yet opposite cultures blend so well together. Before I bought this I found it hard to imagine a song with Celtic harps, flutes or Uillean bagpipes alongside African chanting, drums and African flutes but this CD has it all plus unlike the poppy almost mainstream sounding Futher In Time LP, Release is much less technoish and much more mysterious. I absolutely love all of ACSS albums especially Further In Time.

This CD left me almost speechless. Basically this album continues the tribal sounds of Sound Magic but this time they spice it up with some more electronica. Even with more electronica, Release is one for fans of Sound Magic to enjoy save for maybe Riding The Waves which probably belongs on Further In Time.

The best tracks in my opinion are the title track, Eirean, Even In My Dreams, Hypnotica and I Think Of....The rest are great. To me this CD has the kind of eerie music that to me gives a very wintery feel.

The title track sets the general mood of this album. It's a gorgeous song with African drums played with Celtic melodies laced with from what I can guess is a Middle Eastern accordion. Singer Sinead O'Connor sings vocals on here and it makes this song very mystifying.

Eirean is a masterpiece. This song is poppier with a danceable beat laced with African vocals and Celtic flutes. The beat is strong enough to dance to. Eirean is a strong song with strong hooks and the right kind of melody to go along with it. Even explaining this track isn't enough to really give away really how it sounds.

Even In My Dreams is ideal evening music. This song begins with an airy feel and plays along with gorgeous sounds. This track is one to listen to to really understand how it sounds like.

Hypnotica is one track that left me speechless. The strong amplified chanting took my breath away upon first listening. If you liked Sure-As-Knot off Sound Magic you will love this one. In fact you'll love this one even more. This song is more intense. The ending is very eerie.

In My Dreams is an intense song with Youssou N'Dour-like vocals singing in Irish Gaelic over an intense brooding atmosphere. If you loved Peter Gabriels Passion, you are going to love this one too. I love how the song intensifies with the Riverdance-like sounds during the most intense parts of the song.

Any other songs I haven't reviewed are excellent works of art but the ones I reviewed above are the ones that standout to me and Hypnotica is the shining star of this album.

One more song is a standout but mainly because of how different it is. Riding The Waves is the most rave-like song ACSS have ever produced. While I love this song it in my opinion sounds more like something from Further In Time but yet even this track would sound out of place on that album because this song is mysterious.

This CD is absolutely astounding and is one worthy of owning. And they only get better with the epic, earth-shattering Further In Time.

This album is as close to perfection as it gets. From first song to last the music is irresistable.

It is not just the energy and drive of this outstanding ensemble of superbly talented and skilled musicians, it is the alchemy created by their brilliant mix. For like true alchemists in celtic lore these artists know what they are saying musically and they "mine that gold" with an intuitive awareness of the immense array of raw energy and power created by each musician's gift and personal alchemy. The result is a gorgeous album of pure musical magic.

I found myself enthralled by the special effects and mind bending waves of hypnotic grooves that washed across me in a sound scape that dazzled and electrified at the same time. Songs like "Eireann", "Big Cat" and "Hypnotica" especially.

If there is a CD that one may, without the slightest reservation, recommend to anyone who loves world music and is seeking the ultimate in a joyous, inspired, deep, and emotionally effecting album then give yourself and your loved ones this one.

One of the most interresting acts out now is deffenitly Afro celt sound system. They understand to blend musical styles(african drumbeats, celtic folk + techno) and furthermore understands to spread them to a wide audiance, which is something very few artists are doing, probably in the fear of being corny. Not to mention the troubles following a chart succses.

Now Volume 2: Realease is NOT a corny album, but is it a pop album? Yes I guess so (the tunes on it are indeed terrebly catchy). Anyway who cares if it is. It's great music and I enjoy listening to it. Actually I love this album. 5 *.